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PHILADELPHIA – The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), will host “First Author, First Book” from 8-10 a.m. PDT at the Anaheim Convention Center, 202A, on Saturday, June 23 at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

This popular event, which will include a free continental breakfast, will feature first-time authors Howard Anderson, Beth Howard, Bronwen Hruska, Elizabeth Percer and Beatriz Williams. Former “First Author,” First Book” panelists have gone on to become best-selling authors. The program will be moderated by Barbara Hoffert, editor of Library Journal’s Prepub Alert. Attendees will have the opportunity to have their books signed by these future best-selling authors. Some books will be given away, and others will be sold at a generous discount.

Howard Anderson (“Albert of Adelaide,” Twelve/Hachette, July 2012) has had a varied life; he flew with a helicopter battalion in Vietnam, worked on fishing boats in Alaska, in the steel mills of Pittsburgh, as a truck driver in Houston and a scriptwriter in Hollywood, and, after gaining a law degree, became legal counsel for the New Mexico Organized Crime Commission. He is currently a defense attorney in New Mexico, where he defends Mexican nationals charged with crimes north of the border.

Beth Howard (“Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Pie,” Harlequin, March 2012) is a journalist, blogger and pie baker. In 2001, she quit a lucrative Web producing job to “bake pies for the stars” at a gourmet deli in Malibu, Calif. Her blog is www.theworldneedsmorepie.com. Beth lives in Eldon, Iowa, in the farmhouse made famous in Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” painting, where she runs the Pitchfork Pie Stand.

Bronwen Hruska (“Accelerated,” Pegasus/Norton, Oct. 2012) is the publisher of Soho Press. She has worked as a journalist and screenwriter for 20 years. Her articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, More, Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan, TheVillage Voice and the San Francisco Chronicle. She has sold an original screenplay to Columbia pictures and original television pilots to NBC, CBS, Lifetime and Sony television.

Jay Caspian Kang (“The Dead Do Not Improve,” Hogarth/Random House, Aug. 2012) was born in Seoul and grew up in Boston and North Carolina. He received his MFA from Columbia University, where he also learned quite a bit about poker. Kang is deputy editor at Grantland.com, an online magazine focusing on sports and pop culture, and a regular contributor to TheNew York Times.

Elizabeth Percer (“An Uncommon Education,” Harper/HarperCollins, May 2012), is a three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and has twice been honored by the Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Foundation. She received a B.A. in English from Wellesley and a Ph.D. in arts education from Stanford University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship for the National Writing Project at UC Berkeley.

Beatriz Williams (“Overseas,” Putnam/Penguin, May 2012) is a graduate of Stanford University with an MBA in finance from Columbia University. She lives in Greenwich, Conn., with her husband and children.

Members of Friends of the Library groups, Boards of Trustees, and representatives from library Foundations can attend ALTAFF’s nonticketed programs for as little as $35. For more information about registering and ALTAFF events at the conference, visit www.ala.org/altaff/events_conferences/events.

For general information about the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif., June 21-26, 2012, visit www.alaannual.org. Use the Conference Scheduler to plan your time, create your calendar, and find out about many other highlights as they’re added —speakers, events, networking opportunities, and more. Get the best discount with Early Bird Registration, open until midnight, Sunday, May 13, 2012.

ALTAFF is a division of the American Library Association that supports citizens who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries. ALTAFF brings together library Trustees, advocates, Friends, and Foundations into a partnership that creates a powerful force for libraries in the 21st century. For more information, visit www.ala.org/altaff, or contact Jillian Kalonick at (312) 280-2161 or jkalonick@ala.org.